


Yasss Bitches We Have Our Team Back: an introduction to the Quebec City Nordiques

by yeswayappianway



Category: Men's Hockey RPF, Superstition by Superstition_hockey, Women's Hockey RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 17:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18877807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeswayappianway/pseuds/yeswayappianway
Summary: [a primer to the Quebec City Nordiques as they exist in the world of the Superstition series by Superstition_hockey]





	Yasss Bitches We Have Our Team Back: an introduction to the Quebec City Nordiques

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Annapods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annapods/gifts).
  * Inspired by [[podfic series] Superstition](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16869451) by [Annapods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annapods/pseuds/Annapods). 



> Annapods, i hope you enjoy, because i had a BLAST writing this!
> 
> as I said in the summary, this is an in-universe primer written about the nordiques in supersition. if you haven't read this, this will make LESS THAN ZERO SENSE to you, and i apologize for putting it in the rpf tags, but it does discuss real people, so i didn't want to leave those tags out.
> 
> the title and several gif descriptions are taken verbatim from [Points on a Line: A Jantal Primer/Ship Manifesto by Tequila_Mockingbird](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11435733), so if any of this feels familiar, that's probably where it came from, and also that fic is PHENOMENAL, so once you listen to Annapods' podfic of it, definitely go leave kudos for the author as well. this is a bit of a love letter from me to [superstition](https://archiveofourown.org/series/413233) as well.
> 
> many thanks to my beta for giving me some TRULY excellent ideas for additional fake gifs and pictures, and also agreeing to read this without much explanation of what it was
> 
> edit (nov. 24, 2019): annapods has now done a podfic of THIS (truly full circle, and also I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T REALIZED I HADN'T APPROVED THIS) so if you would like to listen to that, and i highly recommend that you do, you can click through the 'works inspired by this one' link!

** YASSSS BITCHES WE HAVE OUR TEAM BACK AND ALSO OLIVER JACKSON HOLY SHIT **

hey yall

so i wrote one of these last year, and honestly amazingly not much has changed! thank u expansion draft gods and also Coach Ouellette who is a goddess in human form and should be thanked always for all things

BUT ONE BIG THING HAS

and instead of updating that post, i’m going to write a new one, recycle some bits, add some more fun juicy trivia we learned after last year ~~and use historic every third paragraph because some jokes while old should never die sorry not sorry vegas fans~~

let’s start with the easy part!

What Is This Team Anyway?

The Quebec Nordiques are an ice hockey team located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. They play at the Centre Videotron. They’ve existed for a whole ONE YEAR NOW (woooooooo *cheering continues in the background*). but wait, you might say, i thought i’d heard of them before? how can they only be a year old?

well.

you see.

sometimes sports are REALLY FUCKING WEIRD.

basically, the Nordiques did used to exist, in Quebec City, with the same name and the same logo and the same colors as they now use. they started playing in the WHA (a competing league to the NHL) in 1972 when the WHA started, they moved into the NHL when the two leagues merged in 1979, and they played in the NHL until 1995, when the Nordiques’ financial troubles got bad enough that the team moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche we all ~~love~~ ~~hate~~ know today. the ownership of the current Nordiques isn’t the same as the old ownership, so while they can use the logo and the name and all that fun stuff, they don’t technically have the record of the old team. (if you wanna be REALLY confused about this, look up the history of the Winnipeg Jets. if you just wanna laugh about sports teams literally up and leaving in the middle of the night, look up the history of the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. i promise this will be the only time i mention american football.)

How Did This Team Happen?

so now that i’ve given you a sports history lesson, we can move on. the Nordiques were resurrected last year via an expansion draft, which, if you don’t know, means they get to steal someone from every other team and keep them forever and ever. some people in the past might have said, ‘well, it’s not stealing, the other team agrees to expose a certain amount of players and the new team can pick’ but given Certain Circumstances around This Particular Expansion Draft, literally no one will argue with you calling it stealing. i’ll get there, i promise.

actually, i’m gonna get there right now because why not skip to THE JUICY STUFF immediately? some background, though SORRY BUT IT’S NECESSARY. generally, expansion drafts aren’t really geared towards making the new expansion team great. in fact, historically, most expansion draft teams suck their first years. and often their second and third years, and some of them keep sucking for like a fucking decade (sucks to be them lololol). however, the NHL has been steadily changing their expansion rules over time to make these new teams more immediately competitive with everyone else, because if you’re starting a new sports franchise, you want them to make as much money for you as possible right away. this is where i should talk about the vegas team but i don’t give a shit about them, so i’m not going to. so there. go find a Vegas fan if you’re curious (there are some really lovely Vegas fans out there, okay, i promise i don’t hate all of them). still though, expansion draft rules are generally structured so you can’t take away a team’s star players (who often have no-move clauses in their contract—a big legal sports phrase that means a team can’t just decide to give them away on a whim) and also so you can’t steal someone’s prize rookie who hasn’t had a chance to really develop with his team yet

but as we all know, rules are made to be broken.

[gif of Leo Clément, the Nordiques’ general manager, smiling at a camera with the San Jose Sharks logo displayed behind him, and a caption that reads, “From the San Jose Sharks, the Quebec City Nordiques take Luc Chantal.”]

so yeah, somehow the Diques got away with taking the Sharks’ star player WHO WAS ALSO okay he wasn’t a rookie at all, he’d played three seasons, but he was still pretty fucking young, and no one’s… exactly… sure how the diques pulled it off? honestly? there was a lawsuit? the NHLPA got involved (shockingly, as their usual M.O. seems to be never getting involved in anything ever), there’s all kinds of legal explainers and yet no one still seems to know exactly what went down. but importantly, it did, and WE GOT LUC FUCKING CHANTAL!!!!!

remember how i said it’s definitely stealing this time? yeah so someone wrote an article called “From Next Next Next One to the Stolen One? How the Nordiques sniped Luc Chantal from San Jose.” and hockey fans being what they are, Diques fans IMMEDIATELY adopted the nickname ‘Le Volé’ for luc and it’s stuck ever since. the stolen one indeed.

and that brings us to the next part of our journey, dear friends, where i get to put questionable pictures of men who may or may not be questionable looking already but it’s okay because we love them and also Luc is pretty enough for the whole team and everyone knows it.

[gif of Luc Chantal in nothing but Sharks compression shorts, pouring water all over his head]

Who Are These Dudes?

The Captain, Le Volé himself: Luc Chantal. Despite being only 21 when he was drafted to the team, the Nordiques immediately named Luc captain, and like, of fucking course they did. everyone fucking knew it, and he’s pretty fucking great at it, so everyone who whines and moans about him being irresponsible and young and impressionable can go jump in a fucking hole, DON CHERRY. asshole. anyway, Luc’s great, he’s incredible at hockey, i could list stats but like there’s kind of too many, so some highlights: first overall in the 2023 draft, won the Art Ross in 2025 with 130 points, barely lost the Calder to his childhood best friend, Oliver Jackson (HE!!!!!!!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE I GET TO TALK ABOUT _OLIVER JACKSON_ MORE LATER BUT YOU BET YOUR ASS I’M GOING TO), gets into some pretty sick fights if you’re into that kind of thing (and no judgement here, but also no links. you can look that up for yourself too.), and every once in a while does something like _this_ :

[series of gifs of Luc Chantal speaking to microphones clustered around his face, with the subtitled text: dancers make their living through athleticism and performance /and so do I. The only difference /is that I make a lot more money and they don’t have to apologize /if they go watch a hockey game. /I think that says more about the inherent misogyny of a system /that consistently devalues historically female jobs and commodifies sexuality /in a capitalist market than it does about the difference/ in validity of either one of our jobs /I mean, we’re just going to go out there, give 110% /get pucks to the net, and win one for the boys tomorrow.]

what even. what a wildly ridiculous human. my captain.

the alternate captains: (yeah i’m on the alternate not assistant side. because it’s correct. come fight me.)

Claude Giroux. Taken in the expansion draft from the Philadelphia Flyers, where he’d played for nineteen years, most of those as the captain. 

[gif of clearly visibly emotional Claude Giroux wearing a Nordiques jersey and lifting a hand to wave from the vistor’s bench as the Philadelphia fans behind him cheer and clap]

he practically cried on the ice when they played the video tribute for him in philly, i definitely did cry, it’s fine, everything is fine. ahem. anyway. used to be an incredible player when he was younger (if you wanna see something fun, search ‘claude giroux the shift’ on youtube and watch in awe), and now he’s older and has a different role on the team but is damn good at it. also, i want to give endless thanks to our fandom olds for LITERALLY NEVER letting him live down his fashion choices from his early career. frat disaster G lives on in our hearts. (as a wlw, i’m also categorically obliged to mention that his wife, Ryanne, is fucking gorgeous. @ the Girouxs: please adopt me. thank you.)

Mike Hollis. the other A, taken in the expansion draft from the Blues. Holly started his career with Carolina, but got traded after two years with the Canes. plays defense, is pretty much still in the prime of his career. ugh man i _know_ defensive defensemen aren’t as flashy as offensive dmen but GOD the man’s ability to keep the puck in the zone is practically magic. strong dad energy.

the best nicknames in the league, no i’m not biased, why would u say such a thing:

Kale Gwynn. right wing. you get exactly zero points for guessing where he played junior hockey, because ‘Kale Gwynn’ is the platonic ideal of a WHL name. however, some hockey man somewhere finally got a damn clue, and realized that there were a multitude of vegetable-related names available, and his nickname that the team really genuinely uses is Salad. i love this fact more than life itself. anyway, Salad’s one of the younger guys on the team, and oh my GOD is he fast. send kale salad man to the asg for the fastest skater event 2k28.

[gif of Kale Gwynn tossing a puck over the glass to a very excited child holding a sign that says “You’re the only veggie I like!”]

Emmanuel Cherizard. left wing. one of Those Toronto Hockey Kids. not actually from Toronto, but the GTA, so whatever, close enough. i’m sure there’s pictures of him as a kid in a leafs jersey, but i will graciously forgive him this character flaw, because he willingly and endearingly lets his teammates call him ‘Charmander’

[gif of Charmander (the Pokemon) chasing his tail]

sorry just had to get that out. but yeah Charmander’s a really solid second line player, and super reliable. the team’s only a year old, so iron man streaks aren’t all that impressive, but i wouldn’t be surprised if Charmander’s gets pretty high.

love your goalie:

Etienne Laclerc: starting goaltender. from Quebec, so you can imagine how much we all love him extra. listen. listen. i know what everyone said when they drafted him, i know what his save percentage was his last season before the draft, i know what it fucking was this past season too (despite being INJURED for a significant portion of the season and also getting used to a whole new team style in front of him and a new goalie coach), and i will not hear a fucking word said against Ten. love your fucking goalie.

[gif of Etienne Laclerc bouncing up and down slightly as he sits on the ice in full gear during a stoppage in play]

Tuomas Lahteenmaki: backup goalie. ugh i would die for Latte, okay, he saved our asses when Ten was out last season, he’s such a good backup, and he’s got this facial expression like he knows a joke he isn’t telling you but not in a mean way you know? idk. sometimes he wears hats badly. like i said. love your goalie.

[three pictures of Tuomas Lahteenmaki: one with him wearing a beanie that is lopsided and mostly just sitting on top of his head, one where he is wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat which seems to be two sizes too small, and one where he is wearing a backwards snapback that seems to be falling off his head]

the rest of the forwards, with one big exception to come later:

Nikolai Budnikov: OUR COLLECTIVE RUSSIAN CHILD!!!! Buddy is Luc’s rookie, which, lololol who let _Luc Chantal_ have a rookie, but he seems to be doing a pretty good job actually! Buddy’s a pretty kick-ass right wing, and Some People (old white canadian dudes angry that their life is passing them by and hockey doesn’t cater quite so much to their every whim anymore 💅) seem to be surprised at this, as if he wasn’t scoring left and right all over the KHL before coming to QC. please read this article: “[Nikolai Budnikov calls Luc Chantal his dad, chirps his accent and his cooking](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11165934)” please i’m begging you, you will not regret it

Christopher Rosen: right wing. was drafted by the rangers, took a few season to work his way up to the NHL through the AHL, and then not too much later, was traded to the Oilers. so really we rescued him in the expansion draft because does anyone really want to play in EDMONTON? i thought not. Rosie’s not a very flashy player, but he’s solid and the guys seem to really like him. you might even say he’s a Good Room Guy, for all that i think that’s bullshit for a fan to say lol

[gif of Christopher Rosen tapping Paul Sokowski on the head as he walks behind him while Sokowski is getting interviewed, still in his hockey gear]

Patrick Ingvaldson: center. taken from Detroit in the expansion draft. he’s from Minnesota originally, which i think is some sort of requirement as an NHL team that you gotta have at least one dude from Minnesota, or who played in Minnesota in college. he also, as far as i can tell, doesn’t have a nickname. @ the Diques, please give us the forbidden nickname content.

Daniel Perciney: center. from Florida! which is getting more common, but still new enough to be pretty cool. Percy seems like a chill dude, if i can say that from like… two ‘get to know the player’ videos and the fact that he’s from Florida and i’m engaging in home state stereotyping lol

>brief interlude here. sometimes you forget how many people are on a hockey team until you try to talk about all of them WHOOPS whatever i have Committed to bringing you, the people, this VITAL KNOWLEDGE and nothing shall stop me now!<

[gif of a light brown puppy flopping down on the ice at the Nordiques practice arena]

what was i saying again? oh right, the forwards.

Paul Sokowski: left wing. the college boy!!!! last season was Socks’ first season in the NHL and he did so good im so proud of him! proof you can finish your damn degree and still make the NHL and kick ass.

Henrik Tallberg: oh Bergie. Bergie Bergie Bergie. you know how some hockey players go their whole career without ever saying a single thing? Bergie is… not that kind of guy. it’s not like he’s that bad, really, just like, in comparison… oh man. Henrik “it is pretty funny that my name is Tallberg, i guess, but i’m tall in other ways. not—not that—oh sh—” Tallberg has never opened his mouth and NOT had his foot in it, and WE LOVE HIM FOR IT. he’s also very good at hockey. so damn fast, oh my god.

[gif of Henrik Tallberg in his locker room stall, with microphones at the edge of the gif, and white text on the bottom that reads, “Please don’t put that in.”]

Auden Sage: when you’re the designated old guy on your team and your name is Sage and you’ve played for like seven different teams, i’m sorry but that’s just the universe’s way of telling you that yes, you are truly destined to help guide these poor sorry hockey children through life with the long-suffering but knowing air of a man who has been here and done this before, and he isn’t mad, just disappointed. he’s the team dad, is what i’m saying.

Alexander Namagoose: right wing. Goose is from Quebec, and there’s always a special connection between french canadians and the Nordiques. at least, that’s what fans like to think. i feel a little weird including myself here, because, you know, I Don’t Speak French. but he’s absolutely been adopted wholeheartedly by the hometown fans and i just think it’s neat. 

[a picture of Alexander Namagoose’s head sloppily pasted onto an MS-Paint-style, hand-drawn Canada goose, with a large black all-caps caption that reads, “Beware the Goose”]

made it through the forwards finally! on to the D 😉

Pascal Richard: another Quebec guy! aka Richie. how does someone as stereotypically french canadian as Richie get the Most English Nickname. alas. sometimes… i want to murder Richie for the way he plays hockey and other times it’s the best thing i’ve ever seen. that’s just how it goes. has a really cute cat.

[picture of Pascal Richard holding a very fluffy black cat in his arms while sitting on a couch]

Matthew Pendowski: also no nickname!!! what’s up with this, boys!!! i depend on hockey players to have very boring and predictable nicknames and yall are messing with my expectations here! he and Jordie are a d-pairing, and are #BostonBros, despite going to RIVAL COLLEGES (BC and BU, respectively) which is an underappreciated narrative, if you ask me.

[gif of Matthew Pendowski facing the camera and slightly leaning down to talk to Jordan Evangelista, whose back is to the camera, on the ice before a face-off]

Jordan Evangelista: aka Jordie. the other half of the #BostonBros, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, his sister plays for the Whale! and the USWNT! and i would die for her! and honestly, it kind of seems like Jordie would too, so like. good man.

James Aboulker: Jimmy. his name is Jimmy. i cannot believe my hands allowed me to type James i need to go douse my head or something. anyway JIMMY is yet another of our d-men, and also a baby. i know he’s older than like four people on the team, but LOOK AT HIM!!!! he is a CHILD!!!! he and Mike are d-partners, and also road roomies, which we know, bc they cannot watch a damn movie without posting on instagram. s’cute.

Mike Bianchi: again with the lack of nicknames! @ the Nordiques please do better in the future and get more creative while we’re at it! the other half of the Mike-and-Jimmy show in which literally all they seem to do is play hockey and post on instagram that they’re watching shitty action movies. then again, if i could get away with that, you bet your ass i would.

[gif from Mike Bianchi’s Instagram of a hotel room with Die Hard playing on the TV, with the caption “best xmas movie #FiteUs”]

OH MY GOD WE DID IT WE MADE IT THROUGH!!!! if you’re still reading, congrats you deserve a fucking prize. and you know what that prize is?

[gif of Oliver Jackson shirtless in a locker room, grinning at someone off screen]

THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS, WE’RE FINALLY HERE. WE FINALLY FUCKING DID IT. LE CADEAU HIMSELF.

Oliver Jackson: center. newly acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers who GAVE UP ON HIM??? and then their GM RESIGNED???? AND THEN OLIVER MOTHERFUCKING “THIS GUY???” JACKSON SIGNED WITH THE QUEBEC CITY NORDIQUES. as you can see, we may be just a little excited, as a fanbase.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

remember how i mentioned that Luc lost the Calder to his childhood best friend, Oliver Jackson? welcome, folks, to the show of the fucking decade. these two played together in ALL OF JUNIORS which is NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE given how INCREDIBLY GOOD THEY BOTH ARE but god when you see them together? impossibly good, if juniors and international play mean anything, which they do, and holy fucking shit christ almighty we get to see them play together! on OUR TEAM! i’m sorry i know this isn’t very informative, but like who the fuck needs to be informative when WE GOT OLIVER JACKSON FOR _FREE_! i mean like the team’s paying him a fuckload of money, but we didn’t give anything up for him, he just showed up on our doorstep like the best kind of christmas-in-july present. thanks philly 😘

[gif of Luc Chantal winking and pressing a kiss to the edge of Oliver Jackson’s mouth, both wearing 2025 All Star jerseys]

So, Okay, You Told Me About These Dudes, But How Are They At Hockey?

pretty good, actually! obviously, the addition of OLIVER MOTHERFUCKING JACKSON is going to be a boost at the center position, which was solid but not terribly outstanding last year. Luc and Jacks are almost guaranteed to play together, so there’s most of a top line right there, and they can compete with anyone in the league. most of last year’s team is returning, which is awesome, considering that they made the playoffs and took a veeeeerrry respectable Leafs team to 6 games in the first round and as an expansion team, that’s some good shit. most importantly, maybe, they’ve still got Coach Ouellette

[gif of Coach Ouellette calmly tapping her stick on the ice as several Nordiques players skate by slowly, bent over as if out of breath]

Caroline Ouellette: coach. won triple gold as a player (Olympic gold with Canada, World Championship with Canada, Clarkson Cup with Les Canadiennes), has six Olympic gold medals (two as a coach and four as a player), and now the first female head coach in the NHL. the way she coaches is incredible, the team is devoted to her

[gif of Luc Chantal sipping Gatorade]

and she’s pretty much the reason the team was cohesive at all last season

(also, sidenote, i would die for the Chullettes.

[gif of Julie Chu holding Liv Chu-Ouellette as a baby while standing next to Caroline Ouellette]

that is all.)

so yeah, between a solid returning team with good chemistry, one of the best coaches in the game, and the addition of Oliver MOTHERFUCKING Jackson, i genuinely believe the Nordiques will be a real force to contend with this season and i cannot fucking WAIT to watch.

Fun Shit

here’s some extra links you should go check out if you want to know more about this team of UTTER LOSERS who i LOVE DEARLY

-here’s a link to a page that the lovely tumblr user coachcaroscups compiled of all the Diques guys who have social media and where to find them so you can see the same six pictures of a golf course all summer (lol jk except also not jk at all)

-Deadspin’s actually pretty funny article about The Nonsense At The Expansion Draft and that time the sharks GM almost punched a dude

-a wonderful video summing up Apologygate2k27 by corsilady

-Cent Dix Pour Cent is an independent website/blog that covers the Nordiques from a fan perspective, and they have all kinds of good #content over there, definitely check that out (CDPC is especially useful for us english-speaking fans, since pretty much all local media is exclusively in French, and they do a _ton_ of translations. everyone who writes for CDPC is amazing and if i ever meet any of them, i will totally buy them a drink)

-i cannot of course forget to mention ‘Diques No Dekes, which is the Nordiques’ video series where they try to make the players express personalities and sometimes succeed and even when they don’t, it’s still endearing (or maybe i’m in too deep)

-the Crash the Net! podcast is kickass and wonderful and you should absolutely check it out if you like hockey shennanigans or Luc Chantal and Oliver Jackson or non-dudes talking about sports

That’s about it yall, congrats, you made it through!!!! im so proud of you!!! if you wanna know more about hockey, or the Nordiques, or why the NHL needs to create actual rubrics for what their fucking awards mean, hit me up at my inbox or on twitter (i’ve got the same url over there too!)

and here. one for the road.

[series of gifs of Oliver Jackson hitting Noah Hanifin and taking the puck, passing to Thomas Martin, Martin’s shot and the save, the rebound being collected by Luc Chantal, Chantal’s pass to Oliver Jackson, who shoots and scores, all in 2026 Canadian or American Olympic uniforms]

we get THAT on our team now.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] Yasss Bitches We Have Our Team Back: an introduction to the Quebec City Nordiques](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19851190) by [Annapods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annapods/pseuds/Annapods)




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